I double-, no, triple-dog dare you!

He had stepped out of the boat many times before, but there was something different about this step. It felt different. His feet, just like his heart sunk as he stepped in; hoping to catch the familiar sandy beach, he couldn't feel the ground, but the surface surprisingly felt stronger than he had ever experienced. He swallowed and sighed as he locked his focus unto his friends', who stood a few feet from him.He had come to know and trust him.

He recalled the fishing experience, that's where it all began. He had learned to depend on him since. He reflected on the monotonous and confining life he lived prior to meeting his friend. That has all changed now... He is enjoying his new life and now this...this is just super sensational. He knew he didn't deserve this friendship but he had become used to his friend over time and he'd grown to trust him completely.

"Should I come further?" he shouted. "Come", his friend said gently. He took another step and tried to keep his balance. It was unnecessary as the bottom of his feet felt stronger than before. “This is not so bad" he thought to himself and took yet another step; He grew increasingly confident with each step forward. His gaze was now completely fixed on his friend. He knew he had to pay attention...he was walking on water.

He had managed to block out all the distractions around him and had taken enough steps forward. It seemed he'd gotten far away from his familiarities, the safety and sound of the boat, the panic in the voice of his friends who thought he was an idiot to try something like that, the naysers, and those who urged him on. Everything had died down. It was quiet.Almost too quiet for him because he began getting concerned with the serenity of his environment, "I am doing something I never dreamed possible, and yet nothing is happening...there must be something wrong" He thought to himself. The walk seems to be taking forever; he was losing his excitement, it wasn't daring any longer, in fact it was getting a bit mundane for him. "I have taken enough steps to know my way around here...do I really need to fix my eyes on my friend, I’m pretty sure I can manage"

He felt his heart skip a beat as the string of thoughts crossed his mind. His heart began to beat faster, his mind raced, he began to shake vehemently as he felt the cool ocean breeze on his skin ...the urge was getting stronger and so was the sound of ocean waves and the violent winds. He thought it was only a matter of time...before he looked away. His knees got weaker. The noise around him had become unbearable, feeling totally distracted, it was getting difficult to hold his focus. He had enough experience to know he couldn't survive the magnitude of the storms if he lost his ground. He compared himself to the size of his circumstances and imagined his perceived problems will dwarf him...at this point he had grown extremely flabbergasted. He longed for the comfort of the boat, the familiar sights and sounds to offer him support if he were to loose his ground. He had become totally convinced; drowning was inevitable, he took one more step forward; he missed his step and looked away.

Like a ton of bricks, what seem like a million gallons of water smashed against his face. He felt the drag from the violent wind. The ground he stood on had given in. He was swept off by another wave. "I am drowning!" he streamed. Struggling to catch his breath, another wave tossed him upside down, and he let out an aghast scream, Save me Lord” Immediately, he felt the comfort of his friend's palm in his palm and felt his feet get secured again, before he could say anything, he heard the disappointment in his friends tone. "You have so little faith, why did you doubt?”

This is a story of a man who actually stepped out of a boat in the middle of the ocean. It is apparent that he was inspired by his friend whom he had grown quite fond of.

If you've been around business for a while, you probably have heard words like, step out of the boat. It’s usually a dare to assume a challenge. Sometimes it is direct, like get out of your comfort zone. Many people have taken on the dare and began taking steps forward. Often, in the process, many loose sight of their inspiration. Sometimes they feel they don't need any more inspiration and that they can accomplish the journey themselves, other times they loose confidence in their ability to accomplish the task they made a commitment to. Unfortunately, it is during these times that many feel dwarfed by their circumstances.

Feelings of insecurity have become accepted as a natural human experience, however there are times that you feel above your insecurities, you become invincible. Sport's commentators have a name for it...”the zone”. In the zone, everything is possible. Recently the Boston Celtics won their 17th championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 in the 2008 NBA Finals. Kevin Garnett was interviewed after the game, hyped to the T, and swollen with emotion, he cried out "Anything is possible....top of the world, top of the world!!!" Many times though, we don't all feel on top of the world, we often wonder if we are ever going to get through to our destination. I will like to suggest that in moments when we waver in doubt, there is one thing we have done for certain. We have taken our eye off our inspiration.

In life there will always be people, things and circumstances that are and will be bigger, stronger, better, smarter, confident than we are and will ever be, but none of them is in our shoes at the moment. None of them have been inspired to step out of the boat the way we have been. We have been inspired, and we have responded, we have taken some steps of faith, and we've seen progress and grown confident. Our challenge is not to allow the winds and storms into our imagination. They were there before we took the first step; they will be there when we get to our destination. In fact, that is their place, they will always be there. We have done great by becoming oblivious to them thus far; continue to keep them at bay and take another step forward. The boat and the familiar are behind you now. Take yet another step forward… lock your sight on your inspiration. You will get to your destination.

Saga of a Christian...Whos culture is it anyway?

"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Originally from the Sahara, the Tuaregs live a nomadic lifestyle, they are pastoral nomads constantly in search of pasture for their herd. Either by design or default, they don't have the benefit of a sedentary lifestyles, as such they are constantly on the lookout for better pasture. Many cultures have been traditionally nomadic; although the behaviour is rare in many industrialized countries, it is estimated that 30-40million nomads still exist in the world today.I began this note with a quote that was uttered by the first Christian to ever live: Jesus. After speaking to a crowd of people, a scribe asked if he could follow him and Jesus responded with: birds and foxes have homes but the son of man has no where to lay his head. The documented life and teachings of Jesus provide his followers and others great insight into what it means to bear the name of Christ, and to have a Christian mindset. His life is a living testament to what it means to pickup your cross and follow him "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." Matt. 16:24.

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Please note: If you don't think you are Christian and do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, most of this will not mean much to you...but if you are curious, please continue reading...........*A person becomes a Christian when they have been transformed by renewing of their mindset." Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2. They become kingdom minded and their behavior and attitude is renewed, bearing resemblance to that of Jesus. They inhabit the kingdom of God but influence the world around them. Eventually other people desire to emulate them, and that initiates the beginnings of disciple making process "Go, and make disciples of all nations...." Mathew 28:19. The magnitude of a Christian's influence is directly related to their proximity to the kingdom of God and the extent of their relationship to Jesus Christ. Although a Christian lives in this world, they are not of this world...literally they have been redeemed from the culture around them and birthed into a new culture...the kingdom of God. “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you." (John 15:18). In order words, a Christian has no country. They move to where the spirit of God leads them and they impact the world around them with the kingdom of God.

Every Christian has a mandate: They are joint heirs with Jesus to extend the kingdom of God and are involved in the kingdom business on earth; Righteousness, Justice, and Love kindness. "but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving-kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD" Jeremiah 9:24. God is the biggest recruiter for this cause and he does it one person at a time through disciple making. As much as a Christian needs God to be effective, God needs a Christian to be effective. Christians are God's ONLY chosen vehicle to effectively bring to earth, His kingdom. "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth...." Amos 3:2A Christian is a shepherd because Jesus is a shepherd "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11...and we bear His name. Like the Tuaregs, a Christian lives a spiritual nomadic lifestyle, often, it gets manifested with the person's disciples. Jesus revealed that you will know the false prophet by their fruit(s) disciples or lack thereof. Mathew 7:16. A shepherd is constantly studying the condition of his flock and on the lookout for greener pastures for them to graze. The closest to the kingdom bear the most fruit. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me...." John 15:4Key question here: Since a birth of a Christian is a birth of a new mind, and as a man thinketh, so is he, I ask a question, can a man be a Christian and be say, a Canadian at the same time? Is there something like a Canadian Christian, Christian Canadian.....(I use Canada only as an illustrative tool, I don't mean to pick on Canada, I am fond of the Canadian culture and the people that live in it)

I meet with a group of great young men on a fairly regular basis and I asked them this key question. After many discussions, we concluded that NO you cannot be a Christian and belong to any other culture in the world, may it be the African, Canadian, American etc. We understood that Christ is the centerpiece of civilization, and many civilized cultures are founded on the beliefs and teachings of Christ. The Christian culture transcends all other earthly culture.

Allow me to illustrate: Jesus is the first Christian, meaning he is the foundation for Christianity. Christians have a mandate to help establish righteousness, Loving kindness and Justice by seeking the kingdom of God. In one of my notes,"Welcome to the good life" I explained that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Like nomads, when a Christian and his/her followers seek after the kingdom of God, a community gets built around that culture, after a little while, the community gets polluted with sin (human nature) Some people with the mindset of Christ move their herd along to the next pasture. If others decide to remain in the community, they usually name it and settle there. For example, they call the place Ghanada.The Christian and disciples however, continue to seek the Kingdom of God, a community arises, and it gets polluted, settled in and named, say CanUSA. The Christian and his/her flock once again move in search for the kingdom of God (Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit). You can easily see how many societies will be based on a Christian foundation. It is evident that many cultures such as American or Canadian are founded extensively on the Christian culture. It becomes easier to understand how a person cannot be a Christian and also belong to an earthly culture.

In my illustration, either the Ghanada and CanUSA communities were remnants of a Christian’s movement or a Christian was redeemed from them. Christians are described as peculiar people because they live in the world but are not of it. As such, it is important for Christians to be constantly renewing their mind and progressively seeking the kingdom of God. Like a nomad, it is critical to be in search for the greener pasture, failure to act will inevitable lead to sedentary. If you settle, what would you call your new territory? Otherwise, it's time to move on. The kingdom depends on you.

The Gift that keeps on Giving

With the help of some dear friends, I decorated a five inch Christmas tree with a world of ornaments in my apartment. Five inches for a Christmas tree, isn't that a bit small? I thought to myself as I stood a foot across from the freckled face, skinny framed, 21 year old heckler. We stood in a cage full of tied evergreen coniferous trees adjacent from the nofrills in downtown Hamilton. "What can I get for $10.00?" I asked the gentleman as I reached into my pocket and dug out a worn out $10.00 bill. After searching through a pill of trees, he picked a short, but bulky tree.

At first, I thought he mocked my physique in insinuating the nuances between me and the stout tree. It was just me being silly and self conscious. Nonetheless, I could not resist the bargain; for $10.00 I was taking home a heck of a tree. The negotiations were not made lightly, I had to promise my new friend that I would refer him business from some people I knew.

Christmas trees, me, ornaments, decorations; interesting mix of words that is not usually associated with me, the kind born and raised in Africa. In the experience of the culture I grew up in, Christmas was a day to celebrate with family and friends, exchange gifts and if you were religious; which by the way constituted about 90percent of the population, you spent most of Christmas day at church. Buying trees and decorating them with ornaments were visions I saw on the television screen and in movies like home alone, the Christmas story and the Christmas vacation. Perhaps I have been re-socialized or maybe decorating a tree and buying present just eases your mind into the mood of the Christmas festivities. I wonder what the Christmas or rather "Happy holiday" hoopla is all about in North America. Everything sells at Christmas from the Pizza deals to the current Series of Mercedes Benz.

This Christmas, I am reminded of a story I read in the bible, a pretty popular story about Jesus feeding the 5000 men with two loafs and five fish. The story, I thought carried with it an amazing spiritual principle of multiplication by way of giving. After all tis the season to give and be jolly.You probably know this story well enough. When Jesus received the two loafs and five fish, he blessed it and gave it to his disciples to be given to the people. As the disciples gave out the food, it kept multiplying until each one of the 5000 people were well fed and 12 extra baskets were collected up.When they were instructed by Jesus to give the food out, they could have thought Jesus was being ridiculous, the two loafs and fish was simply inadequate; they could have shared it with just their families; they could have shared it amongst themselves; or totally ignored his instructions and done nothing with it. In all those circumstances, the food would not have multiplied.

It is evident that the multiplication came when the food was given out.The loafs and the fish in the hands of Jesus is analogous to Christians in the hands of God. "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me” Isaiah 48:16. When Christians spend time with God, they are blessed; just like the loaf and fish is blessed. Just like the disciples could have ignored the advice to give of the food to the people; Christians can ignore the advice of giving of themselves to the people.Unfortunately, sometimes Christians sitting in a church service, getting fed with the message of the gospel and being blessed each week never multiply or increase. Often the reason is quite simple: We are not giving of ourselves; unlike the blessed fish and loafs; we have kept to our families, our communal friendships or completely ignored the instructions to give out and have seized from the opportunity to multiply.

This Christmas, we can be the gift that keeps on giving. We can be the blessed loaf and fish that does not run out, because we have waited upon the lord all year. "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31.

If we are running out of ideas of ways to be the gift that keeps on giving; here is what Jesus said:

For I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat;
I was thirsty, and you gave me drink;
I was a stranger, and you took me in;
I was naked and you clothed me;
I was sick, and you visited me;
I was in prison, and you came to me.

’The key to multiplication is to give of ourselves; we are blessed; too blessed for just our families, too blessed for just our friends, too blessed not to do anything. Jesus is looking to feed 5000 men. Would we be the gift that keeps on giving this season?

Pointing My Views

Thank you for visiting my blog. Just like you, many thoughts go through my head each day and I wish to express them with my friends. This is an excellent opportunity to do so and I am excited about the prospects. I know many of my friends are smart, so I am eager to share my ideologies relating to spirituality, business, science, economics, life and current world affairs. I am excited about this opportunity and I invite you to join me on this journey.

Doug Krell once said:

“ You see what is there and accept what you see. Beyond what is real lies the realm of the free. You’re trapped behind your eyes and contained by your speech. You must unlock your mind and release all the keys"

Let's demystify life together.